A bartender’s salary ranges widely. A significant portion of a bartender’s income is made up of tips. How much is based upon the type of bar, the location, and the time of year. Regardless of these circumstances, pretty much every bartender expects to take home a reasonable amount in tips each night. It is estimated that bartenders take home between $45,000 and $73,000/yr, thanks to their tips.

An average night of tipping can depend on the type of bar one works at, and the shift one ends up bartending. It is a general rule of thumb that a bartender should earn two to four times their hourly salary. Therefore, if your base salary is minimum wage of $10.00/hr, you should earn in tips about $20.00 to $40.00/hour. A bartender in an average bar can easily earn $20.00 to $40.00 per hour with both wages and tips.

In the type of atmosphere where drinks are cheap (and the customers are frugal with their tipping), a decent night might produce in the neighbourhood of $50 to $100 in tips. On the other hand, at a high end restaurant or a busy nightclub where drinks are pricier and the customers are freer with their tipping, a bartender might expect to bring home $200 up to $800 per night.

You shouldn’t expect to jump into the bartending game and start making the maximum possible income immediately, but if you do your job well you’ll always make good money no matter where you work.